General Parenting Research Articles

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a Framework for Understanding Adolescent Depressive Symptoms Over Time

Worldwide, depression is one of the most common medical disorders in adolescence. Adolescent depressive symptoms generally increase over time, but many experience decreases after an initial peak. The purpose of this paper was to examine ecological predictors of baseline and change in adolescent depressive symptoms using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a framework. Adolescents (n = 500; 52% female; baseline age 10–13 years) and their parents living in the northwestern United States completed annual questionnaires over six years. A structural equation model growth curve analysis was conducted to examine how family stressors, neighborhood safety, parent-child connectedness, and youth locus of control predicted adolescent depressive symptoms (baseline and growth). Results demonstrated that adolescent locus of control was associated with lower baseline depressive symptoms (β = −0.27, p < 0.001). Parent-child connectedness (youth-report) was indirectly predictive of baseline depressive symptoms through locus of control (β = −0.06, p < 0.05). Family economic stress was predictive of less growth in depressive symptoms over time (β = −0.20, p < 0.05). General family stressors, neighborhood safety, and parent report of parent-child connectedness were not predictive of adolescent depressive symptoms. In a sensitivity analysis using an autoregressive model, adolescent-report of parent-child connectedness was the most consistently predictive measure of adolescent depressive symptoms. Overall, the results suggest that feelings of family connectedness and control are more important to understanding baseline depressive symptoms than physical, contextual factors. However, some adversity may be healthy and provide adolescents with experiences that slow the growth of depression.

Impact of Parent Engagement in Childhood Obesity Prevention Interventions on Anthropometric Indices among Preschool Children: A Systematic Review.

Background: Home environment, modeling of weight-related behaviors, and general parenting style are very important predictors of obesity in children. The effect of parent engagement in prevention of obesity in children is not clear. The main objective of this systematic review was to address the effects of parent engagement in obesity prevention interventions on anthropometric changes among preschool children. Methods: PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were searched. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials in last 10 years (from 2008 until February 14, 2018), which had a parent engagement in obesity prevention interventions (as an intervention) and children's anthropometric indices (as an outcome). Results: Twenty-six studies were included. Half of studies targeted both parents and children, and the rest targeted only parents. Types of interventions ranged from a simple motivational interviewing to professional skill training approaches. Studies that targeted overweight or obese children in their intervention containing training sessions followed by maintenance for parents and those that focused on individual support for overweight children and their parents, resulted in higher improvement in BMI and other outcomes. Conclusions: Anthropometric indices and BMI are not appropriate for reflecting the effectiveness of parent engagement in obesity prevention interventions. Having an individual component in the intervention and focusing more on parents vs. children in the intervention may result in improvement in anthropometric outcomes. Focusing on weight-related behaviors as the main outcome in both, children and parents, rather than anthropometric indices, is highly recommended for future reviews.

Identifying phenomenological foundations of systems engineering and systems science

AbstractEngineering disciplines (electrical, civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering), concerned with physical phenomena, are founded on math–physics theoretical models from related sciences. It is sometimes asserted that systems engineering lacks, and is seeking equivalent foundations grounded in modelled physical phenomena, on an impactful par with other engineering disciplines. We instead argue (a) there is an already well‐known system phenomenon; (b) its model‐based theory has long been known in the form of Hamilton's principle, Noether's theorem, and similar established theories; (c) this phenomena and theory are general parent cases of the more familiar phenomena and model‐based theories of the other engineering disciplines and sciences; and (d) for emerging larger scale systems important to society, new larger scale phenomena, model‐based theories, and engineering disciplines may be developed using this general parent. Contemporary examples include ground vehicles, aircraft, marine vessels, and biochemical networks; ahead are healthcare, distribution networks, market systems, ecologies, and the Internet of Things.

Developing a cerebral palsy-specific preference-based measure for a six-dimensional classification system (CP-6D): protocol for a valuation study

IntroductionCerebral palsy (CP) is a lifelong condition. The CP quality of life (CPQOL) instrument is a frequently used disease-specific instrument to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with...

Intrusive parenting and child externalizing behaviors across childhood: The antecedents and consequences of child-driven effects.

Many developmental theorists have studied the mutual influences in parent-child dyads. However, absent from this area of work are longitudinal studies that examine how child elicited changes in the home environment in turn shape children's own long-term development and adjustment. The current study addresses this limitation by operationalizing child-driven effects in a multilevel model to predict children's adjustment through age 15 (n = 1,364). From 24-months to 7 years of age, children's externalizing behaviors predicted increases in mothers' intrusive parenting behaviors. These child-driven effects were particularly salient for non-White children and mothers who were at risk socioeconomically. More important, these elicited changes in mothers' intrusive parenting as a result of children's externalizing behaviors during early childhood, in turn, predicted children's externalizing behaviors through age 15. When taken together, these findings suggest that children have the potential to shape their own development in the long-term by initiating changes in their home environment. Accordingly, interventions designed to mitigate children's externalizing behaviors may need to address, not only general parenting practices, but also specific and efficient parenting strategies in response to children's behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

GENETIC ANALYSIS AND HETEROSIS FOR SOME QUANTITATIVE TRAITS IN TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM L.)

This study was conducted during three successive early summer seasons of 2016- 2018 at the experimental farm of both faculty of Agricultural, Menoufia University, Shebin El-Kom and Bahga Agricultural development company, Anshas, sharkia. The present investigation was aimed to obtain more information on combining ability and degree of heterosis for some plant and fruit characters. Four breeding lines and one cultivar of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and their ten F1's resulted from a half – diallel cross were evaluated and the component of genetic variance , combining ability and the extent of heterosis were determined for some tomato traits ,i.e., number of primary branches and leaves , early and total yield , average fruit weight and fruit firmness. The analysis of variance reflected significant differences among the studied genotypes for all the traits studied. Estimation of the magnitude of variance due to general and specific combining ability effects (s2 GCA & s2 SCA) showed that both additive and non-additive gene effects were significant and important in inheritance of all studied traits, except average fruit weight. However, the estimated genetic parameters revealed that the additive gene effects were more important and play the main role in the inheritance of early and total yield, average fruit weight and fruit firmness and could be improved by varietal breeding program. While, the non-additive genetic variance was found predominance for number of branches and leaves and improving these two traits could be occurred by heterosis breeding. The two lines MON-8 and MON-9 were considered as the best general combiner parents, since they recorded positive GCA effects for four traits.The cross combinations MON-8 x MON-9 and MON-9 x MON-15 were the best specific combinations, since they recorded significant SCA values for five and four traits.Relative heterosis (MPH%) was observed for all studied traits, except, average fruit weight, while heterobeltiosis (BPH%) was observed in some crosses for number of branches and leaves as well as early and total yield. Based on the standard heterosis (SH %) expressed by the hybrids MON-8 X MON-9 and MON-9 X MON-15 were found to be superior since significantly exceeded the commercial hybrid (control).

Parental socialization profiles in Mexican-origin families: Considering cultural socialization and general parenting practices.

Recognizing that immigrant parents socialize their children in specific ways, the current study examines Mexican-origin families' parental socialization profiles using both parental cultural socialization and general parenting dimensions. We seek to understand how these dimensions interact to form culturally grounded parental socialization profiles in a sample of Mexican-origin parents and adolescents. There were 604 adolescents, 595 mothers, and 293 fathers within Mexican-origin families self-reporting on 2 cultural socialization dimensions (respeto, independence) and 4 general parenting dimensions (warmth, hostility, monitoring, reasoning). Adolescent outcomes were assessed 1 year later. Latent profile analysis revealed eight parental socialization profiles representing distinct combinations of cultural socialization and parenting dimensions. Relative to other profiles, the Integrative-Authoritative profile (high on socialization toward respeto and independence; high on warmth, monitoring, and reasoning; and relatively low on hostility) was the most common parenting pattern and was also associated with more optimal adolescent outcomes. Examining cultural socialization alongside general parenting dimensions can better capture parental socialization strategies among Mexican-origin parents. The various parental socialization profiles that characterize Mexican-origin parents have important implications for adolescent outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Views of the parents of secondary school students on supporting their children's learning

The aim of this research is determining the support behaviors and activities parents realized for their children’s learning and revealing it relationships with some demographical properties of parents. The translational simultaneous mixed method was used. This study in which quantitative and qualitative methods used together, firstly survey was applied and the semi-structured interviews was done. Data obtained by these data collection tools were analysed simultenously. The participants of this study are 360 parents who are parents of students studying in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades at a secondary school in İstanbul. Semi-structured interviews were realized with 43 parents chosen from these participants. The questionnaire consists of three dimensions and 66 items. In the analysis of quantitative data percentage, frequency, arithmetic means and one-way variance analysis (ANOVA) were used. Descriptive analysis was used for analysing qualitative data. According to data obtained from the research, parents realized the activities which are related to motivate their children to learning and the activities that parents do with the other education stakeholders more than the activities that parents do for helping their children’s lessons. The academical supporting activities parents do are mostly general ones. The general academical supporting activities parents stated that they do generally are following their children’s homeworks/examinations, encouraging them for studying, researching form different learning sources, doing test, providing appropriate learning environments at home, sending their children to school courses and following their academic scores. The motivational supporting activities parents stated that they do mostly are praising their children when they achieve something, encouraging them when they couldn’t be successful in their lessons and talking about what they do at school. The activities mostly stated by parents that they realized collaboratively with other people and insititutions which are related to their children’s learning are attending parents’ meeting and speaking out their negative and positive thoughts about school and teachers. Parents’ opinions about the supporting activities they realised don’t differ according to their educational levels and occupations but they differ according to their ages. It can be said that younger parents (ages between 20 and 30) do supporting activities more than others.

Association of Food and General Parenting Practices with Young Children’s Dietary Behaviors and the Role of Child Difficulty in Self-regulation (OR03-05-19)

ObjectivesUnderstand the association of food and general parenting practices with young children’s dietary behaviors and the role of child difficulty in self-regulation in this relationship. MethodsData were from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort. Parent-child dyads with non-missing outcomes at age 5 (i.e., weekly frequency of intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet foods and desserts, salty snack foods, fruits, and vegetables) were used (n = 3,250 boys and 3,150 girls). Analyses were done separately for boys and girls. Regression models with full information maximum likelihood were used accounting for clusters in Stata. Each outcome was regressed on food parenting variables at age 4 (i.e., rules about foods, and meal routines of eating as a family and at a regular time) and covariates. General parenting variables at age 4 (i.e., parent-child interaction, difficulty sticking with rules, harsh discipline, rules about watching television, and rules about bedtime), child difficulty in self-regulation at age 4, and their interactions were then added sequentially. ResultsBetter food parenting practices at age 4 were associated with less frequent intake of unhealthy and more frequent intake of healthy foods and beverages in both boys and girls at age 5, with some differences by gender. General parenting practices at age 4 were associated with dietary behaviors differently for boys and girls. Difficulty in self-regulation at age 4 significantly modified the association between parenting practices and child’s dietary behaviors for boys (evening meals at a regular time and intake of sweet foods and desserts) and girls (parent-child interaction and intake of sugar-sweetened beverages; difficulty sticking with rules and intake of sweet foods and desserts; rules about foods and intake of fruits and vegetables; and harsh discipline and intake of fruits). ConclusionsBetter food parenting and general parenting practices at age 4 were associated with children’s healthy dietary behaviors at age 5. These associations differed by gender and child difficulty in self-regulation. Interventions to improve children’s dietary behaviors should target parents and children to promote positive parenting in food and non-food settings and support children with difficulty in self-regulation. Funding SourcesNone.

Public Perceptions of Contentious Risk: The Case of Rubber Granulate in the Netherlands.

This paper reports on the perceptions of risk related to practicing sports on fields containing rubber granulate infill, and preferences for mitigation measures, among people with and without offspring exposed to rubber granulate. Two repeated surveys were conducted among members of the general population and parents of children aged under 18, in the middle of a dynamic public discussion about the potential health risks of exposure to rubber granulate. The first survey (N = 1033) was administered in December 2016 at a time characterized by considerable public uncertainty and contrasting opinions in the public risk debate. The second survey (N = 782) was conducted in January 2017 after the publication of a risk assessment report, which concluded that practicing sport on fields containing rubber granulate is safe. Multilevel analyses were performed to study changes in perceptions of risk and mitigation preferences in the time between the two surveys, the influence of being familiar with new information following the risk assessment report, and the differences in the perceptions of risk and mitigation preferences between groups with and without offspring exposed to rubber granulate. The results of this study show that, initially, a substantial proportion of the Dutch public perceived practicing sports on fields containing rubber granulate as a potential health threat to children. Over time, after publication of a new risk assessment study stating that practicing sports on fields containing rubber granulate is safe, perceived risk and preferences for mitigation of this risk decreased, especially among those who were familiar with the new information. Parents of children under the age of 18, in particular those with children who were exposed to rubber granulate, were more likely to perceive the risk as higher and to prefer a stricter mitigation policy. These insights may be important to inform public health communication strategies with respect to the timing and tailoring of risk messages to various groups.

Maternal Dietary Inflammatory Potential and Quality Are Associated with Offspring Asthma Risk over 10-year Follow-up: The Lifeways Cross-Generation Cohort Study (OR35-05-19)

ObjectivesAsthma is the most common childhood chronic health condition. Maternal antenatal diet has been associated with offspring asthma risk, but long-term offspring follow-up (> 5 years) and studies investigating maternal whole diet quality and inflammatory potential are rare. We thus aimed to elucidate these associations using data from a prospective birth cohort study in Ireland. MethodsEarly pregnancy dietary data were obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) is a literature-based method to quantify dietary inflammatory potential; a higher score indicates a more pro-inflammatory diet. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2015 contains 9 adequacy and 4 moderation components; a higher score indicates better dietary quality. Doctor-diagnosed offspring asthma status (general practitioner or parent reports) for the first 10 years of life was collected at 3-, 5-, and 9-year follow-up. A total of 862 mother-child pairs (singleton pregnancy with information on maternal diets and offspring asthma status) were included. The longitudinal association between maternal energy-adjusted DII and HEI scores and offspring asthma status was assessed using generalized estimating equations. Missing covariates were accounted for using 20 multiple imputations. ResultsCumulative offspring asthma incidence was 21% over the 10-year period. In the main models, adjusted for maternal lifestyle and sociodemographic factors, a higher DII score was associated with higher risk of offspring asthma (OR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.65; P = 0.004; per 1 SD score increment), while a higher HEI score was associated with lower risk (OR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.93; P = 0.006). Results persisted with further adjustment for childhood factors (breastfeeding, childcare attendance, dietary quality, active and sedentary time), damp in house and parental asthma history. Similar associations were observed when DII and HEI scores were modeled in quartiles (both P-trends < 0.05; Figure 1). ConclusionsOur results suggest that a pro-inflammatory and low-quality diet during pregnancy is associated with higher risk of offspring asthma. These results add to the knowledge base for informing maternal pregnancy dietary recommendations to optimize offspring health. Funding SourcesIrish Health Research Board, Science Foundation Ireland, and the European Union. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs▪

Self-determination theory and food-related parenting: The Parent Socioemotional Context of Feeding Questionnaire.

There has been wide application of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to understanding motivation and regulation of eating and weight. Yet, there are no measures of the socioemotional-contextual family conditions in the eating domain, which are identified in SDT and should influence development of eating behavior in young children. Two studies were conducted to develop and validate a measure to assess the SDT socioemotional-contextual dimensions of food-related parenting. These dimensions were derived from extensions of SDT, which argue that autonomy support, warmth, and appropriate structure (as well as low coercion, hostility, and chaos) are the conditions that will fulfill children's psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence, resulting in more intrinsic motivation and better self-regulation of behavior. In the first study, 230 parents completed the food-related parenting items in reference to their 4- to 8-year-old children, and the factor structure and construct and convergent validity of the items were examined. Generally consistent with SDT, factors suggested 4 food-related socioemotional parenting contexts of supportiveness (autonomy support/warmth), coerciveness (coercion/hostility), structure, and chaos. In a second study of 221 parents, a 24-item Parent Socioemotional Context of Feeding Questionnaire (PSCFQ) was confirmed to have a 4-factor structure. In each study, good reliability was found for each subscale. Construct, convergent, and divergent validity were supported by small to moderate correlations with aspects of child feeding (e.g., restriction) and general parenting styles. PSCFQ subscales were not associated with child BMI, family income or parent education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Increasing autism acceptance: The impact of the Sesame Street “See Amazing in All Children” initiative

To promote knowledge and acceptance of autism, Sesame Workshop created an online initiative: See Amazing in All Children. This nationwide evaluation of See Amazing assessed whether it increased knowledge and acceptance, promoted community inclusion, reduced parenting strain, and enhanced parenting competence. Survey responses were collected online from parents of children (age ⩽ 6) with and without autism before (N = 1010), 1 week after (N = 510), and, for parents of autistic children, 1 month after (N = 182) they viewed the See Amazing materials. Following exposure, parents of non-autistic children showed small but significant increases in knowledge of autism and, like parents of autistic children, greater acceptance of autistic children. Parents of autistic children reported less strain, increased parenting competence, and more hope about involving their child in their community. That the See Amazing materials invoked positive changes in the general parent community and in parents of autistic children suggests that See Amazing materials have the potential to be an effective resource to increase acceptance and community inclusion, although limitations of self-selection, dropout rate, and lack of control group constrain interpretation. Implications include support for targeting acceptance as a step beyond awareness campaigns, though actual behavior change is a subject for future research.

When parents are inconsistent: Parenting style and adolescents' involvement in cyberbullying

IntroductionThe prevalence of cyberbullying among adolescents is globally on the rise. This study examined how general and cyber-specific parenting styles impact the prevalence of young adolescents' involvement in cyberbullying as victims and/or perpetrators. MethodsOne hundred and eighty 7th and 8th-grade Israeli students participated (Mean age = 13.25, SD = 0.81; 86 males, 89 females, 5 did not indicate gender). Adolescents reported the frequency of their involvement in cyberbullying, and whether their parents were using “autonomy-supportive” or “psychologically controlling” strategies generally and specifically when mediating internet use. ResultsA controlling parenting-style as well as an inconsistent internet-mediation style were associated with a higher prevalence of adolescent involvement in cyberbullying as victims and as perpetrators. Prevalence was higher when parents who generally use a controlling style were less controlling or consistent when mediating internet use. ConclusionDespite the caveats related to parental control, parents who generally use a controlling style should consistently use this style while mediating cyber. Inconsistent parenting style conveys messages concerning internet activities that contradict what teens are accustomed to receiving in other contexts. This inconsistency may encourage them to exploit their relative freedom in the cyber context and act irresponsibly.

Patients under 4 years old treated with overhead extension for isolated femoral fractures - lessons learned concerning parents' satisfaction.

Conservative options are the standard for treatment of femoral fractures for patients under the age of 4 years. We investigated possible factors influencing the satisfaction of the parents in order to improve their experience. We analyzed 42 cases of children under the age of 4 years treated with overhead extension therapy (OHE) for femoral fracture. Our protocol requires transition to spica cast treatment (SCT) and discharge from the hospital after the initial 10-day OHE. X-rays were analyzed for fracture healing. A pseudonymized questionnaire was sent to the parents in order to evaluate their experiences during the treatment. The nature of the fracture was explained to 73.3% of the parents in a way that was "understandable and in detail". However, 23.3% stated that "many questions were not answered". Seventy percent of parents noticed behavioral abnormalities during treatment, and 63.3% reported treatment-specific problems. Additionally, 86.7% of parents were satisfied with the therapy outcome, 80% were content with the type of therapy, and 73.3% would choose OHE again. We found a high Spearman correlation between general satisfaction and parents who felt well informed. There was also a strong correlation between high general satisfaction and the opportunity for any problems to be discussed and addressed during the medical rounds. The reasons for nonsatisfaction were primarily due to communication problems. Thorough evaluation during medical rounds, communication with healthcare professionals and care provided by the nurses affects the contentment of the families significantly.

Variables which predict maternal self-efficacy: A hierarchical linear regression analysis.

Children with developmental disabilities tend to develop challenging behaviours. Parenting programmes that focus on behaviour management may help parents address these difficult behaviours by increasing parenting self-efficacy. However, the literature on parenting self-efficacy is still limited due to measurement variability in conceptualization and operationalization of the construct, and heavy reliance on cross-sectional data. This study utilized hierarchical linear regression to examine the predictors of parenting self-efficacy in 284 mothers who attended a parenting programme in a hospital's Department of Child Development in Singapore. Our model was able to explain 37% of variance in parenting self-efficacy. After controlling for general stress and specific parenting hassles, the programme was still found to be effective in improving mothers' parenting self-efficacy. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for developing a model for parenting self-efficacy, and possible improvements to be made on the parenting programme.

Depression and parenting in youth with type 1 diabetes: Are general and diabetes-specific parenting behaviors associated with depressive symptoms over a 2-year period?

To examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of general parenting style and diabetes-specific parenting behaviors with depression in youth with type 1 diabetes. Participants (n = 390) completed self-report measures of depression at baseline and 2-year follow-up, general parenting style at baseline, and diabetes-specific parenting (conflict, task involvement, and collaborative involvement) at baseline and every 6months. Logistic regression examined associations of parenting with depression at baseline and 2-year follow-up. A less authoritative parenting style, lower parent collaborative involvement, and greater diabetes-related conflict were associated with baseline depression in the model simultaneously including all parenting variables and covariates. Lower parent collaborative involvement and higher diabetes-related conflict were associated with depression at 2-year follow-up, adjusting for baseline depression and covariates. Parent task involvement was not associated with depression at either time. Findings suggest a protective role of parenting in reducing the risk of depression in youth with type 1 diabetes.

Parents' awareness and knowledge of testicular torsion: A cross-sectional study.

Background:Testicular torsion (TT) is one of the most common emergencies in pediatric urology. Family awareness of this condition could lead to early diagnosis and intervention and salvage of the effected testicle. The purpose of this study is to assess parental awareness about TT and their source of knowledge. We also evaluated the response of the parents to their children's scrotal pain.Methods:A quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2017 to September 2017 at our institution. The study target were parents attending the pediatric urology clinic and the comparison group included parents attending the general pediatric clinic in the same period. We distributed a questionnaire and then compared the results in both groups.Results:A total of 200 parents participated in this study (100 parents from each clinic). Nineteen percent of pediatric urology clinic parents were aware and 14% of general pediatric clinic parents were aware about TT with no statistically significant difference observed (P = 0.341). The parents in urology clinic choose doctor as their main source of knowledge (42.1%), while in general pediatric clinic, doctor and through a friend as the main source of knowledge had the same percentage (28.6%). Response of the parents to their children's scrotal pain during working hours in urology and general pediatric clinics was to drive their children to the emergency room immediately with 85% and 82%, respectively. The response of the parents after working hours in both clinics did not show difference, with 83% of parents in pediatric urology clinic and 85% in general pediatric clinic driving their children immediately to the emergency room.Conclusion:TT in boys is a common problem we face as pediatric urologists and it may lead to testicular loss if not diagnosed and treated early. We found that the awareness of TT in children is low in our community and it is our responsibility to raise it to improve our children's well-being.

의미 네트워크 분석을 활용한 양육스트레스 관련 국내 학술지 연구 분석

The purpose of this study was to explore the research trends of parenting stress in Korea using a sematic network analysis. We analyzed the titles of 995 journal articles that included “parenting stress” and that were published in the Korean language between 1990 to 2017. We found that “mother,” “parenting,” and “effect” were the key words that appeared most frequently in the analyzed titles. These key words had a high degree of centrality, eigenvector centrality, and betweenness centrality, which shows that parenting stress research has focused on mothers and examined the factors associated with parenting stress. Our CONCOR analysis identified four clusters of frequently used terms: (a) general parenting stress, (b) marriage and parenting stress, (c) families of children with special needs and stress, and (d) preventive education and therapy. We compared the ego networks of “father” and “mother.” While both “mother” and “father” were highly related to “parenting,” “effect,” and “children,” “father” was strongly linked to “mother” and “participation,” which reveals that parenting stress research in Korea has been centered around mothers rather than fathers. We suggest that future research focus on fathers as co-caregivers and other caregivers such as grandparents who may also experience parenting stress.

GENE ACTION AND HETEROSIS OF MUSKMELON

Six parental genotypes namely 673 (P1), 3M-637-D (P2), 3M-673-EB (P3) , 86E2143(P4), 86E2147 (P5) and WA20 (P6) representing wide range of variability in most of the studied traits,were employed and crossed in half diallel fashion. This investigation was carried out at theExperimental Farm of Ismailia Agriculture Research station, Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, during thethree summer seasons of 2015, 2016 and 2017, to study the important economical traits of muskmelonas fruit width, fruit length, flesh thickness, cavity diameter, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid content,carotenoids content, fruit weight, total yield/vine and fruit number/vine. A greater ratio of GCA/SCAthan unity was detected for most studied traits, revealing that the inheritance of these traits was mainlycontrolled by additive gene effects. On the contrary, both TSS and ascorbic acid content traits, nonadditivetype of gene action seemed to be more prevalent. The maximum significant MP heterosis indesirable direction (112.4%) was recorded for ascorbic acid followed by total yield/vine (101.0%),number of fruits per vine (100%), TSS (65.3%), flesh thickness (62.1%), fruit weight (59.8%) andfruit length (53.6%). Heterobeltiasis (over the best parent better, BP) was observed and the maximumsignificant manifestation was orderd as: Ascorbic acid (108%), number of fruits per vine (69.4%),both TSS (%) and cavity diameter (58.8%) and total yield per vine (49.8%). The cross 3M-637-D (P2)x 86E2143 (P4) was derived from low x high general combiner parents for total yield/ vine andexhibited the highest mean yield, highest heterosis, highest SCA effects for yield. It showed also,significant or highly significant desirable SCA effects for eight important traits.